Artist Mini Interview: Gum, Butter, or Coffee?
Art is the ultimate personal expression and it serves as a voice for feelings that are often impossible to describe with words alone. We recognize how each medium allows an artist to tell a story and share their own unique vision – with their own unique style. Every artist knows that there is no limit when it comes to creating art; whether it is pencil, watercolor, digital art, or even a more obscure practice of creating with mediums like spilled coffee, bubble gum, butter, or even Jell-O. Extraordinary pieces of art can be created from even the most unconventional methods because artists see a canvas in everything around them. We understand that artists are versed in a wide array of art forms; nonetheless, there is always one medium that speaks to them more than any other. We’ve asked our talented community of artists to share their favorite medium of art and what makes it the best technique for them. So, tell us, do you prefer digital art? Are you drawn to watercolors? Or is there something a little more unconventional up your sleeve? Invite us into your studio and share your creative process!
Question: What is your favorite medium to create art and why?
Hello there. My favourite medium is ink in it’s simplest form: straight from a normal ballpoint pen on to paper. I like drawing with pens because they allow me to work very detailed. The pressure on the pen defines the darkness of the ink. With each line I draw my animal portraits come to life a little more. The fact that mistakes are permanent keeps me focussed. I have been drawing with pens on paper now for the last two years as my soul medium, and I really love it.
I love using watercolors because sometimes they can be so imprevisible. I am, what you might call, a control freak in my day to day life, and the way the watercolors interact with each other or with the water and the fact that I can’t do much to change it, helps me feel relaxed for a change. Sometimes when i am not in the mood to paint I just watch other artist paint with them, and it has the same calming effect.
My favorite medium is digital art! I love creating semi-realistic pieces and also simple typography all in one piece, and everything is so easily accessible. I can go as dark in color scheme as I want and bring references from almost anywhere so easily and effortlessly than trying to print a bunch off or going off a screen next to some traditional medium. It’s calming to spend time at a screen for hours maybe a show or music going on in the background while I create some magnificent pieces.
It’s sort of a ‘draw’ when it comes to my favourite medium to create art. It really depends on the purpose, I suppose. If I’m creating for Design by Humans or for an illustrated book, I like to use digital media purely for the purpose of higher resolution. But, when it’s solely about the process, I like to use watercolour, pencils, or ink. Watercolour gives an infinite range of colours that are different from stroke to stroke, so it feels as though the colours mixed for that painting are more unique. Ink always looks clean and deliberate, but pencils are less permanent and allow for more experimentation.
Acrylic paints have always been my love when it comes to creating physical pieces of art. Personally, my admiration for the medium is not about how smooth it flows on canvas or how fast it dries, but all about the “in your face experience” when you are painting. You have to get messy and close up to whatever you’re doing to achieve the desired effect, especially when painting fine details. This makes every piece a memory, as the work you put into it and the colors you choose along the way are small decisions you make to reach your final piece. You remember the process, the struggles and the happy accidents.
Hey there! As I graduated fine art highschool as a print graphic designer (so I am more like an outline guy) my two favourite mediums are: ye olde linocut (with different color layers with a number of turnovers in the press) and the pen and ink on paper after a good watercolour / ink underlay. Nothing stains one’s soul like the good old ink, you know. Also the hand knows its way, so with the ink and pen every small defect adds an incredible effect at the end!
My favourite medium would have to be 3D, it’s just something about 3D that free’s you as a designer, anything you can think of both in a logical and visual sense is achievable. 3D is something close to my heart and it will never cease to amaze me.
Hello! my favorite medium is a combination of photography and digital drawing. I like to take photographs in abandoned places and then draw the strange creatures I imagine. I think it allows me to Explore the frozen instant that exists within the photo, so close to reality, but at the same time so far away. It is an instant that will never repeat itself, in this case showing a past that never was.
I like to keep my mind open to experimenting. My process starts with a story first, then I match the medium to the message. That being said, I’ve always gravitated heavily towards the look of inkwash and, most recently, I’ve been excited by the seemingly infinite possibilities of digital painting.
Hi, my favourite mediums are vectorial and ink. I love vector art for my kawaii illustrations and I love the the ink for more realistic art. I use principally markers, they are versatiles.
I enjoy many mediums and revel in the opportunity to try news ones, but my favorite is digital. It is inclusive, it allows artists to share, enhance, and even improve their work. Creating digital art allows me to experiment with ideas, and try as many times as I need. I personally struggle with failure more when working on physical mediums, clicking undo just isn’t as stressful as ruining a new canvas which enables me to hone my craft and my confidence as an artist.
My medium is Adobe Illustrator. Even I use it at work all the time, I never get tired of it, and can’t wait to come home and use it.
Hey there! My favourite medium that I just started to use is bristol, any brand will do. I use a thin newsprint to get my rough draft work done and do a transfer over to a bristol paper. I mainly work with pencils for my rough draft and inks and markers for my good copies, I specialize in linework and minimalism and bristol paper is perfect for markers and ink not bleeding through! I LOVE IT
Hi!! My favourite medium is pixlr online editor. I can’t afford photoshop currently, so pixlr is the zoo class version aha. I like to look at work of my photography I’ve taken using my DSLR camera and edit my artwork or photos on it. I’m practicing to find a signature style. I also love using acrylic paint then ink drawings on top. I look to Ron English, Don Michael Jr & Vincent Trinidad for inspiration, as well as the 90’s era. – Zuzu x
My favorite medium is digital art. Digital art makes things magical.
Although I have a passion for any kind of art medium. I’d say my favourite lately has been watercolour as it relaxes me in stressful moments. As well I love sketching design and then scanning and painting over them via Photoshop or Illustrator. Hand rendering is my meditation:)
Hi there!! Easy answer from me. It’s ink and lineart! As a medium it has multiply features. You can easily do simple objects but how about doing doing detailed clouds, landscapes, surfaces and animals? Yeah not that simple anymore. You have to learn to use it. It fits also to streaming at Twitch. My viewers love to see creation my line by line. Contrast makes it easy watch. I’m a teacher and father of 2.5 years old boy. I’m currently a full time student at University of Lapland in Finland studying in faculty of Art and Design. I’m fulfilling my dream to be a better artist here in DBH. In my future plans belongs to do art with etching. It would be unique. By the way my today’s drawing hit number 1 spot in Reddit /r/drawing ;] – Mikko –
Call me a traditionalist but I love doodling with pen and pencil. I see it as flexing the creative muscle. I’ll start with something simple like a large obscure shape in pencil and then just let the pens do the talking. Line work and crosshatching can be extremely relaxing once you get into a rhythm and I’m really satisfied with the levels of detail I can get from a 0.3 pen on paper. Ive tried using styluses on tablets and we’re a long way from truly reconstructing that visceral experience of channeling ideas onto paper!
I don’t really know how it happened, but I suddenly discovered my deep love for watercolors, I think I can call it a obsession now. Besides, watercolors and owls – it seems like those two elements were made to be together!
This question is difficult for me. Lately I’ve been working fairly heavily in collage, but I take the easy way out by calling myself a “mixed media” artist. Doing so allows me to work in a wide variety of mediums, be it drawing and illustration, printmaking, painting, sculpture and so on. A common theme throughout my art, however, seems to be disassembling and reassembling things, slapping together parts like Dr. Frankenstein and then seeing if the cobbled-together abomination is capable of existing on its own.
My favorite medium is hands down is pen and ink. These days the majority of my artwork lives in my sketchbook for several reasons- portability & lack of storage space (which is important when you live in a small apartment and obsessively create!). You’ll never find me without at least 10 pens and a small sketchbook in my purse wherever I go. I’ve drawn with my pens on planes, trains, boats, and in cafes and bars across the world on my frequent travels- and pens are easy to keep with me at all times. There is also something very magical about the simplicity of creating in black and white that I am very drawn to. My work usually starts out as a bold black and white drawing, often very influenced by my background as a graphic designer. Ink allows me the flexibility to make both detailed and organic meandering lines that are characteristic hallmarks of my work.
